To the surprise of anyone that had seen (or probably even just “heard of”) The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and his Troma films company decided to adapt the movie… which if you don’t know is a blood and boob packed piece of cinematic madness of the highest, at times gloriously wrong, order… into an animated children’s television show. I shit you not…
The Toxic Crusaders series begins with a MASSIVELY toned down retelling of Toxie’s (voiced by Squidward himself Rodger Bumpass… and assume the following actors are appearing in a voice over capacity) origin before, over the course of a few episodes, introducing the rest of the titular Toxic Crusaders: the giant-nosed No-Zone (Paul Eiding), plant/soldier hybrid Major Disaster (Ed Gilbert), half human/half dog mutant Junkyard ( Gregg Berger), and two-headed, mad scientist (Hal Rayle)/singing telegram surfer (John Mariano) monster, Headbanger (who was a bad guy at first, but turned sides after seeing that good guys get girls).
While not hanging out at a dump, or occasionally trying to find day jobs to pay the rent for the shit shack in which they dwell located in said “dump”… or paling along with the elderly (when they aren’t being replaced by four-armed alien clones)… our heroes fight a cockroach from another planet disguised as a four-armed, lavender-skinned business man… you know, to blend in.
Anyway said business roach is named Dr. Killemoff (Bumpass in a dual role) and he, along with his cohorts Psycho (Michael J. Pollard in a deadpan role that is far and away my favorite performance in the series), zombie-like mutant Bonehead (Hal Rayle), and large cadre of Radiation Rangers plan on turning Earth into a toxic waste dump suitable only to sustain the life of Killemoff’s alien brethren… and worse of all he has Tromaville’s Mayor, Max Grody (Chuck McCann), in his pocket!
And yes, as always, Kaufman (this time in animated format) makes a cameo appearance (or two, or three… )!
As crazy as it may be to believe; the show is freakin’ awesome… and actually okay for kids to watch… plus, Uncle Lloyd got Fred Wolf (who previously brought the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into our living rooms in their debut animated series… which makes perfect sense really) to help create the whole she-bang!
And make no mistake, the series is still filled with plenty of Troma touches, such as; a gym populated by thugs, girls in aerobics attire, & Road Warrior-style (or maybe Class of Nuke ‘Em High would be more appropriate here) post-apocalyptic punks, plenty of toxic waste, monsters, Vaudeville-worthy corny humor, breaking of the fourth wall… and Toxie is still the lovable do-gooder he’s always been; full of optimism and toxic sludge (not to mention trouble-sensing Tromatons) in equal measure!
As mentioned, this series has ties to those heroes in a half-shell, and that extends to the visuals as well, as the animation and character designs utilized here would fit right in with that long-running show (and how that crossover has never happened is light years beyond yours cruelly)… and the background elements offer a pleasing and visually striking contrast with the happy, always sunny streets of Tromaville presented with plenty of pastels and watercolor flourishes, while Killemoff’s island displays rough, scratchy linework and a suitable sense of filth (it also brings to mind the style utilized by Bakshi for his adaptation of R. Crumb’s Fritz the Cat from 1972).
The episodes all look great too, as whatever digital cleaning magic was utilized here makes these look better than when they first appeared back in ’91… and my old ass knows, ‘cuz I was there!
Special features present on this two disc release are just as off-kilter as the show they accompany and include: a fun intro to the film featuring Kaufman and live-action interpretations of the cartoon version of Toxie and Dr. Killemoff (I’d watch/write/direct a whole series of this done exactly this way!), a promo reel for the series that introduces the main characters, footage of costumed Toxie and No-Zone mascots marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, a collection of promo reels for the toys based on the show, and a handful of ancient, rando Christmas-themed cartoons from the 1930’s (?!!)… and that’s just on Disc One!
Disc Two contains a vintage intro to the series from Kaufman, a retail promotional reel, a brief collection of file footage pertaining to the series, returning promotional materials for the Toxic Crusaders toy line, a humorous short detailing Lloyd’s dealings with Hollywood to bring a live-action version of the show to movie screens, a feature-length documentary on the creation of the forth-coming Toxic Crusaders video game (followed by a commercial for the same), the now traditional Radiation March video (which has to have appeared over a hundred times throughout Troma home media releases, a quick view on Toxie taking care of the situation in the Ukraine (which also auto-plays at the start of each disc along with the video game advert), and an ad for the 4K release of the Toxic Avenger film series (which you may want to refrain from showing your kids because you know they will beg you to watch those freaky flicks resulting in the need for them to become real cool with some fucked-up shit real quick… ).
If you’re already a Troma devotee (or love those constantly mentioned Ninja Turtles), this collection is a must-own; it’s fun, silly, mutant-packed, and an entertaining take on the wicked n’ wild world of Tromaville!
